Facebook F8 Conference: WhatsApp to get new group video calling feature, stickers soon

Facebook's F8 conference began yesterday where Mark Zuckerberg announced a host of many interesting features that will be added to Whatsapp and Facebook.

Zuckerberg started by acknowledging the changes that need to be introduced from a developer's point of view after the entire Cambridge Analytica episode. However, he reiterated his commitment to build both Facebook and WhatsApp by introducing new features.

Zuckerberg announced one of WhatsApp's biggest feature updates this year. WhatsApp subscribers will soon be able to make group video calls.

The existing video calling feature is very popular among its users and is used by millions of people daily. Facebook wrote on its official blog that WhatsApp will have this video calling feature in the coming months. Since it's just the developer's conference, many changes will be introduced till the final build is prepared. Another addition to the list of features will be the support for stickers.

During the event, Zuckerberg was keen on restoring some of the lost trust in Facebook among millions of users worldwide following the Cambridge Analytica fiasco which he said was a major breach of trust. He took the platform to announce that Facebook would now have a Clear History option that would enable people to erase their cluttered history on Facebook.

Zuckerberg also said that Facebook is working on restricting the data that developers will be able to request from people. It is also bringing in new dating app and will only show people who are not one's friends. Safety and privacy have also been kept in mind. Facebook also announced Instagram video chats and Instagram Group video chats where people while on a call can keep browsing through ones feed and at the same time also share posts with them all at the same time.

Coming back to Whatsapp, its status feature is used by 450 million users worldwide, Zuckerberg mentioned while also saying that Whatsapp for business that was recently introduced to target business has 3 million users already. He also mentioned that over 2 billion minutes of video calling and voice calling are made daily on Whatsapp.